Chapter 90

“Did… did Your Majesty leave Pare?”

“Did he leave with Duke Ocleang?”

The revolutionary army officials could hardly hide their shock upon hearing the news of the king’s escape.

In the midst of it all, a woman among them, Colonel Charlotte, turned to her male companion with a puzzled expression and asked,

“Hey… Maraang?”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t this a bad thing? To me, it seems like they can’t touch us anymore… If the king fled and the Duke Ocleang also escaped, doesn’t that mean this place is practically ours now?”

“…Sigh…”

Always spouting foolish things, that friend of hers.

Maraang gave a deep sigh as he replied.

“Well, it might seem that way at first glance. But Charlotte, no matter how rotten things are, the king is still the king. He holds the justification to keep the center of the country stable and make the surrounding forces submit. Even if Duke Ocleang has a strong faction, his power originates from the king. The fact that the king has escaped means…”

“??…”

“…”

Charlotte looked perplexed at Maraang’s words.

Maraang sighed again.

“Sorry… I spoke too complicatedly. Simply put, it means Duke Ocleang has made off with the royal seal that can decide everything. You know what the documents sealed with that imply, right?”

“Ah… I understand now. So Duke Ocleang can use the royal decree to attack us… is that it?”

“Well, that’s not all, but you could see it that way. Even the General is in such a state now, so the situation doesn’t look good. Plus, with the local queen having connections to the neighboring Holy Empire, there’s a risk this could spiral out of control.”

“Hmmm… Revolution… this is tough. I thought just taking Bastion Prison would be the end of it…”

Charlotte wore a perplexed expression.

Seeing her like that, Colonel Maraang couldn’t help but let out a small sigh, thinking that this silly side of her was also part of her charm.

At that moment…

“According to the intelligence report, Duke Ocleang and his party are headed east.”

“Should we attempt to pursue them? It might be too late, but there’s always a chance, right?”

“Hmmm… It’s hard to have high hopes, but for now, that seems to be the best course of action.”

While saying “east” was vague and offered no clear answers, they had no choice but to proceed with the hope of clutching at straws.

If they fled overseas, the situation could become uncontrollable, so they had to capture them by any means necessary.

Thus, under Robes Fiora’s orders, multiple pursuit units were hastily organized.

“Napoleona, lead the chiefs and head east immediately. There’s no time, so move at once.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Colonel Bernadotte and Guillaume, head northeast. They might be heading toward the Roland region, so block the border area. I’ll send General Rafael’s orders along with you.”

“Understood.”

“And… Colonel Maraang and Colonel Charlotte, you two head southeast. If you catch anything, please contact me immediately.”

“Ah… yes. We will obey.”

Following Robes Fiora’s command, about 70 percent of the high command’s forces set off to find the king and Duke Ocleang who had left.

Feeling a sense of helplessness and anxiety, as if they were searching for a needle in a desert within a 30-minute time limit.

*

“Hmm? Where are you going, Admiral?”

“I have a quick stop to make. I’ll return soon, so have the soldiers wait so they can leave immediately.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

After leaving the preparations to Chiefs Janglan and Myura, Napoleona rode off somewhere.

Despite the pressing and frustrating situation, one must remain calm.

Thus, just before fully moving, Napoleona decided to ask for help from someone who came to mind.

“That Fiora girl seems frantic too. How could she leave out the Pirate King in such an important discussion…”

Thinking that it must have been a mistake given how urgent the situation was, Napoleona hurriedly arrived at the plaza.

As the meal distribution was nearing its end, she found the pirates taking a little time to relax among the citizens sitting on the ground.

Upon spotting them, and more specifically the Pirate King sitting among them, Napoleona felt a flutter in her heart even amid the chaos and hurriedly dismounted.

“Pirate King!”

“What is it?”

“…Tch.”

*

“What? The king escaped with Duke Ocleang?”

“Yes, that’s right. Because of that, we are trying to track down the king’s location immediately, but… to be honest, it doesn’t look easy.”

“Hmmm…”

The unexpected, no, the much quicker developing situation forced me to frown.

I knew similar events had occurred in the original work.

It wasn’t mentioned in great detail, but about a few months after the fall of Bastion Prison, the king had attempted to escape, and when he failed, public sentiment plummeted drastically.

In the end, the king, who lost the trust of the people, faced dire consequences as his head was driven from his body…

However, the current situation, while similar, had many differences.

‘The timeline has also advanced… and above all, unlike the original, this time it was Duke Ocleang leading the charge. So…’

While the king failed to escape back then, now he was with the queen, along with Duke Ocleang, who was suspecting to be the queen’s accomplice.

With Duke Ocleang’s movements already skewing the situation significantly, success or failure in this matter could easily turn upside down.

Thus, I felt the need to respond firmly here.

“The situation is urgent; given this development, I will also accompany you.”

“Will… will you really? To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that, but if the Pirate King himself joins, it would feel like we have a godsend on our side!”

For a moment, Napoleona’s previously glum expression began to brighten.

Watching her, I realized she was placing a great deal of trust in me.

Given what I had accomplished so far, this was hardly surprising.

‘That’s great, building a friendly rapport with someone who will be a big shot in the future can surely yield some benefits down the line.’

Buying low is the key to investment.

Feeling that everything was progressing rather well, I inwardly smiled.

At that moment…

“Just a moment, Captain, you’re forgetting something important.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

Franklin suddenly opened her mouth.

Then she, as always… or perhaps with a more fierce look than usual, said

“Have you forgotten why we came here? Our most important goal is to rescue Ambasha. If Duke Ocleang has fled, this may be our chance to save the girl who might be trapped in his mansion!”

“! Hmmm… Indeed…”

Franklin reminded me of a fact I had momentarily overlooked.

It was true that eliminating the threat of Duke Ocleang was important, but even more crucial was ensuring Ambasha’s safety—that was non-negotiable.

And then…

“You have a point there. In that case, Franklin, you and your troops should raid Duke Ocleang’s mansion right now. If Ambasha is trapped inside, we must rescue her.”

“…Huh? Ah… you mean, Captain?”

“I said I’m going to catch Duke Ocleang. There’s a possibility he’s fleeing with Ambasha, and above all, among his direct escort, there could be strong enemies that I need to deal with personally.”

“…”

“? What’s wrong? Is there some discontent?”

“…No… It’s nothing… I’ll go… I’ll go, Pirate King.”

“…?”

For some reason, Franklin seemed off since earlier.

Watching her turn away in a huff, I started feeling guilty, wondering if I was asking too much of her.

‘If only I could tell her to take a rest, but… at this point, she’s the only one I can rely on for this task…’

Feeling some guilt in my heart, I began to move swiftly with Napoleona to track Duke Ocleang.

‘According to the original work… perhaps he will be there?’

*

Franklin was not feeling good.

It wasn’t because she had spent days preparing meals for thousands of people.

For her, cooking was like her essence.

Seeing countless people eat her meals with happy smiles brought her joy, so there was no room for complaints—in fact, she felt gratitude about it.

The source of her discomfort, however, came from a particular person who had been irking her lately.

It was the girl from the Kingdom of Frantz who kept trying to cling to her man, the Pirate King, at every opportunity.

In stark contrast to her gloomy demeanor, this girl had a dazzling beauty.

She claimed her reasons were to handle business efficiently, but Franklin knew better.

Her female intuition rang alarm bells, and it was clear that her intention was driven by ‘affection.’

With already so many women around the Pirate King feeling anxious, this girl’s actions only added to Franklin’s frustrations.

And the ever-kind Pirate King, who welcomed it with open arms, was an added annoyance.

Of course, Franklin understood that he was merely being professional, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness.

‘No matter that we’ve become lovers… am I just not charming enough?… What’s wrong with me as a woman…’